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When you were a kid, it was Halloween candy. You hid it from your parents and you ate it until you got sick. In college, it was the heavy combo of youth, tequila and well, you know. As a surgeon, you take as much of the good as you can get because it doesn't come around nearly as often as it should. 'Cause good things aren't always what they seem. Too much of anything, even love, is not always a good thing. How do you know when how much is too much? Too much too soon. Too much information. Too much fun. Too much love. Too much to ask... And when is it all just too much to bear?

Much too Much is the tenth episode of the second season and the 19th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

It's a high profile day for Seattle Grace, high profile names become staff and high profile cases arrive, specifically the arrival of Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd and the mother of quintuplets, in which three of the five are surgical cases. Meanwhile, the rest of the interns face their own low profile dilemmas, as Meredith's one night stand shows up at the hospital more than pleased to see her, Cristina gets keyed and Alex makes a major mistake, both professionally and romantically.

Full Summary[]

The episode begins with Meredith's narration over a shot of Meredith and an unknown man's legs as they stumble through the door, taking their clothes off.

Cristina and Burke passionately make out as they enter Burke's apartment. Cristina asks, through kisses, if it was where Burke lives. He picks her up and carries her into the bedroom as she laughs.

Alex and Izzie kiss as they enter the house as well, undressing each other.

Derek imagines Meredith in the shower.

Derek rolls over next to Addison after sex.

Meredith does the same with her one night stand.

Derek looks conflicted, but Addison smiles and says that it was amazing. Derek half-heartedly agrees, still looking upset.

Meredith turns away from her one night stand while he asks "Did you..." trailing off for implication. Meredith says she did but is obviously lying, as she looks upset too.

The next morning, Meredith sits in a chair next to the bed where Steve is still sleeping. She is on the phone with Cristina, awkwardly telling her about him. Cristina walks out of the bathroom, brushing her teeth as she asks questions. The conversation shifts to Cristina telling Meredith that she's at Burke's apartment, and uneasily complaining about the neatness about his apartment. Steve wakes up as Meredith deadpan jokes for her to get out of the house. Steve asks Meredith who she was talking to, and she hangs up. She uses the same parting line as she did with Derek, saying that when she gets out of the shower, he won't be there.

Cristina searches Burke's kitchen and finds a key in a coffee mug with a note next to it. The note, to Cristina from Burke, says that he had a key made for her. Cristina is alarmed.

In the kitchen at Meredith's house, George and Izzie discuss Meredith's one night stand. When George jokes about men she has previously slept with, he insists that he is over her. Regardless, he complains about the number of men she has slept with. They both see Steve run out, and Izzie nicknames him "Running Guy." George brings up that Izzie came home with Alex, but Izzie says that she doesn't want to talk about it, and then clarifies that she does, but Alex doesn't because he had difficulty getting in the mood. George laughs and Izzie warns that he can't say anything. Izzie says that maybe the relationship isn't meant to be, and that she just needs sex, aggressively grabbing him by his shirt. George jokes that he won't sleep with her no matter how much she begs.

In Richard's office, Addison signs a form to make her employment official. Addison tells Richard that the mother pregnant with quintuplets checked in to the hospital. She also tells him that she needs people from all departments because at least three of the babies will need surgery.

Alex presents Robert Martin's file to Derek as the patient is in CT. Robert believes he is on a plane and asks if they are stewardesses, to which Derek jokes that they're called flight attendants now. They find the tumor, which is causing extreme thirst, which in turn lowers the patient's sodium level. Derek sends Alex to have 300 CCs of 3% saline solution administered over 3 hours.

Addison introduces Izzie to Dorie Russell, the mother of the quintuplets. Dorie intends to make it past two weeks the anticipated maximum gestation. She mentions that she already has triplet boys, which Izzie makes a distasteful joke about. Addison chastises her, but Dorie says that it's okay and she's used to it. After they're done talking, Addison quietly tells Izzie not to "...say everything that pops into your brain."

Meredith and Cristina are sitting on a bench in front of the hospital. Meredith wonders why men she takes home for a one night stand always expect something more. Cristina shows her the key that Burke gave her, and protests that they haven't even had coffee together yet. Steve walks up to them, visibly uncomfortable. He's surprised to find out that she works there, and says he has a problem. He moves the jacket to reveal his erect penis. At first, Meredith doesn't notice, but Cristina stares and introduces herself. Steve tells her that he's still erect from sex with her last night, and Meredith finally notices.

Meredith and Cristina walk Steve into the ER. Meredith wants to be discreet while diagnosing him, but Cristina says that it's not her fault that Meredith "broke this guy's penis." As she's saying that, Bailey walks behind them and overhears. They try to walk ahead, but Bailey tells them to stop because she's pregnant and doesn't want to go after them. Cristina says that she needs to check on labs as an excuse to leave the situation. Bailey looks at Meredith and Steve, who are both embarrassed.

Izzie is giving Dorie Russell an ultrasound. She declares the results pretty good for a set of quintuplets. Dorie sighs in discomfort and tells Izzie that Kate, one of the babies, kicks her hard. Izzie asks in indignation if she named them already. Dorie says she knows Izzie thinks she is crazy, and Izzie apologizes if she said something to offend her. Dorie tells her to be honest, and she knows that Izzie had been judging her. Izzie admits that she thought it would be better for the rest of the babies if only two had been terminated. Dorie already knows, but she "introduces" Izzie to each of them my placing her hand over their positions and telling her their names and little about each of them. Izzie warms up to Dorie.

Meredith brings Steve and Bailey into an examination room and tells her about his problem, calling Steve a "friend". Steve insists that he didn't take any anti-erectile dysfunction drugs, even after Bailey warns him about the painful diagnostic procedures ahead. Bailey tells Meredith to start his workup.

Addison tells Derek and Burke about the quints and gives her copies of the files. They passive-aggressively complain about being on standby in anticipation of the quints' birth. They both agree to meet Dorie. Burke leaves, and Addison walks with Derek while he looks over the file. Addison asks if anything is wrong since Derek left their hotel room early that morning, but Derek says he had an early surgery.

Izzie helps Dorie into bed, and she jokes that she feels like a beached whale. Addison walks in with Derek, introducing him. Dorie is impressed at Derek's attractiveness. Dorie jokes that everyone must hate them. Derek talks to Dorie about Baby C's, or Lucy's, condition, hydrocephalus. Dorie is worried at first, until Derek says that, barring complications, her baby will be fine.

Cristina asks Burke what the key is, and he sarcastically replies that it's a key. He dodges her questions and they exchange sarcastic remarks until Meredith walks up. Burke walks away, and Meredith tells Cristina that Steve's labs are clean and that someone needs to induce vasoconstriction. Cristina doesn't want to, but agrees once Meredith says she will do every enema Cristina is assigned to for a month. Cristina remarks that she really doesn't want to do it.

Robert Martin is in his room, papers and file folders everywhere, discussing work with his personal assistant. Derek tells him about his approach to removing his tumor. Robert is skeptical and tells his assistant to look up Derek's credentials. Derek tells him that once his sodium levels are stabilized, they'll operate, but that means he can't drink any more water and will be kept hydrated intravenously.

Cristina prepares Steve for an enema while he gripes about his unfortunate situation. He is cut off when Cristina begins the procedure.

Olivia the Nurse works on a computer while Alex is filling out paperwork. He asks if she's still not talking to him, and she points out that he gave her syphilis. She asks about George, and Alex makes fun of him. He says that minimal disclosure is his policy, and gives Olivia the paperwork. Irritated, she takes it and walks away. Izzie comes up to Alex and tells him that she's on the quints' case and wants to help him get in. He tells her he's got plenty of cases keeping him busy so she asks if she did something wrong. After he evades the question, Izzie asks if he wants to have sex in the hospital. Alex seems intrigued but hesitant as Izzie walks away flirtatiously. 

Meredith sits on the staircase when George appears and asks how she broke a man's penis. She is horrified that he knows now too and he implies that she's seeing too many men lately, offending her. George warns her that sleeping around won't help her get over Derek and tells her she deserves better.

Izzie and Alex are dressing themselves in the on-call room and she asks if it's her or he has a problem. Alex denies it and tells her they're going to try again until they can do it. He starts to kiss her again but they are interrupted when she's paged away.

Izzie returns to Dorie's room and Addison asks where she's been. Dorie is having contractions and the placenta is lying low, so the babies are at risk for premature birth. Tom freaks out, but Dorie tells him they can stop the contractions as happened before with the triplets. Addison tells Izzie she is now on call for the night.

Bailey checks on Steve, who still has an erection, and informs Meredith and Cristina that the enema didn't work. The next step is a needle aspiration. Steve panics but Bailey tells him the penis could fall off otherwise, so he has to go through with it. 

Alex tells Robert's assistant, Doyle that he'll be in the hospital a while and Doyle informs him that Robert doesn't have many friends. Alex calls Robert a sad guy. Robert orders Doyle back into the room.

Cristina and Meredith inject Steve as they discuss Burke's key. Meredith says he will be hurt if she gives it back or doesn't use it. Steve tells her that if Burke put himself out there like that it means he's ready to take the next step. As he talks, his penis goes flaccid. He is relieved.

Addison takes Burke and George to see Dorie. They explain that one of the quints, Emily, will need to have heart surgery. As Burke explains her condition, Izzie becomes saddened.

Burke and Cristina meet in the elevator and Burke tells her it's just a key. Cristina says that's good but then he adds that she could move in with him, which freaks her out. She hurries out of the elevator without giving an answer.

Alex goes back to Robert's room, where Doyle is leaving after being fired. Robert explains that he could tell Doyle had lost respect for him. Alex says Doyle considered himself a friend, but Robert doesn't think so. He says illness is a sign of weakness and that Alex surely doesn't let the other doctors know when he has problems. Alex says he doesn't have any problems and Robert says he probably doesn't have friends either.

Meredith returns to Steve's room to find that he once again has an erection. Bailey says it must be neural and has already called for a consult. Meredith is upset as Derek shows up and asks what's going on.

Derek takes a look at Steve's penis and asks about his problem. Steve explains he had an erection the previous night and it never went away, Meredith wincing beside him. Bailey excuses herself as Derek asks Steve about his last ejaculation. Steve says he doesn't know and asks Meredith if she does. Cristina also leaves and Derek realizes that Meredith had sex with Steve.

Bailey and Cristina take a look at Dorie's ultrasound, and Cristina explains that the baby's organs are growing outside its body. Dorie freaks out and Bailey explains how the surgery will go. 

Burke goes to see Cristina in the locker room and she asks how he could live with her if he doesn't know anything about her. Burke lists a few very specific facts about her. She tells him those are just little details but he insists that he knows her, and that since it's clear she doesn't wanna move he can't be the only one taking the extra steps, or he will walk away altogether. 

Olivia the Nurse is knocking on Robert's door. He has locked himself in the bathroom to get to the water and Alex arrives to try to break him out. He says his only job was to keep Robert from drinking water and Olivia offers to page Derek, but Alex says he can handle it and sends her to turn off the floor's water.

Derek explains to Steve that he has a tumor causing the erection. Steve asks if he should be scared and holds Meredith's hand for comfort. Derek watches and explains that after a simple surgery everything should return to normal. Steve asks Meredith to call his mom but not to tell her about the tumor. Derek asks how long they've been seeing each other and Meredith says they're not but Steve tells him they met the previous night at Joe's. Derek says he met a girl there once too, a long time ago.

Olivia has turned off the water as Alex breaks into the restroom, where they find Robert drinking out of the toilet. They have to pull him back to get him away, forcing him back to bed. Robert yells at them not to look at him and tells Alex that he's not a good doctor and he will fire him. Alex tells him to go ahead.

Burke is in his apartment working out when Cristina comes in, using her key. Burke tells her that's a step. She walks towards him and asks if he wants to know her. He says there's nothing she could reveal that he wouldn't want to know, so Cristina takes him to her apartment, which is a big mess. She tells him she doesn't clean at all and once a maid she hired ran away crying. She explains herself and says she doesn't care but he does. She asks if he still thinks living together is a good idea and he doesn't look sure.

Izzie goes to Alex and Meredith in the cafeteria and tells them Addison wants them on notice for the quintuplets. There will be five babies and at least three surgeries. They both agree and Izzie asks if she should page them. They walk away, looking tired and leaving Izzie confused. Alex says he was up studying, while Meredith says she was staring at her ceiling in horror after her one night stand became a case. Alex congratulates her on breaking his penis and says there's nothing wrong with sleeping around. Meredith says it's only a problem when they start to let their emotions get in the way. Alex agrees and looks over at Izzie. He goes to talk to her but is then paged and leaves.

Alex arrives at Robert's room, where Olivia explains Robert is jittery and has been slurring. He then starts having seizures and Derek walks in, asking what his saline dosage was. After Alex answers, Olivia says he ordered more than that, which Derek says is too much and yells at Alex. Alex asks if Robert will be okay and Derek says he can't operate on him in his current state.

Alex is in the on-call room and Olivia walks in. She tells him she's sorry for telling Derek about the dosage and that it doesn't mean he's not a good doctor. They bond over how crappy it's been for them lately and he asks if when they were together he was good. She tells him he was great and he agrees that it was easy and simple. Olivia kisses him and they start to have sex.

Derek and Meredith operate on Steve and Derek cracks a few jokes about her one night stand. Meredith tells him that it gets better, or at least she's trying to be optimistic. Derek then goes to talk to Addison, who has officially signed her contract at the hospital. She says it's time to move forward and he agrees, telling her that they're okay. Addison gets paged for Dorie.

Addison arrives at Dorie's room and finds that she is bleeding heavily. Her placenta is bursting and they have to move forward with the birth. Dorie says Tom is at home with the kids but Izzie has already called him in. Addison sends her to page the rest of the team. Dorie doesn't want her to leave but Addison tells her it's fine. Izzie tells her she's done all she can and has to trust them to take care of the rest.

Meredith visits Steve after his surgery and tells him the tumor is gone. He thanks her for being there and suggests they can go out again but she says no, explaining she was just looking for a replacement and he deserves better than that. She gets paged and turns to George, who is also being paged. She apologizes to Steve and heads off.

Cristina and Burke are being paged after having sex on Cristina's messy living room floor. They hurriedly get dressed.

Izzie tells Addison everyone answered their page except Alex, who might be asleep as he was on-call. Addison sends her to go find him so she rushes to the on-call room, where she finds him in the middle of sex with Olivia. She tells him it's time for the quints and leaves as Alex realizes he screwed up.

The doctors prep in the operation room and Alex arrives, unable to talk to Izzie. Meredith watches Derek, who is watching Addison. Everyone works on operating on the newborn babies.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Robert Martin[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Subdural hemorrhage
    • Delirium
    • Rathke's cleft cyst
    • Hyponatremia
    • Seizure
  • Treatment:
    • Hypertonic saline solution
    • Surgery

Robert, 45, collapsed and hit his head, causing a subdural hemorrhage. He also had uncontrolled eye movement and delirium. He had low sodium because he was drinking more to quench increased thirst caused by a Rathke's cleft cyst. They treated his condition with hypertonic saline and planned surgery. Robert locked himself in the bathroom and drank water despite orders not to drink anything, so he was given more saline, but an incorrect dosage was ordered, which dehydrated his brain and caused it to swell.

Dorie Russell[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Quintuplet pregnancy
  • Treatment:
    • Trendelenburg position
    • C-Section

Dorie was 32 weeks pregnant with quintuplets. When she started having contractions, she was given magnesium and put in trendelenburg position. When her placenta started tearing, she was taken immediately into surgery for the c-section to deliver the quints.

Steve Murphy[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Priapism
    • Spinal tumor
  • Treatment:
    • Enema
    • Needle aspiration
    • Tumor resection

Steve came to the hospital with an uncontrollable erection. He denied use of erectile dysfunction drugs and his labs were clean, so he was given an enema to induce vasoconstriction. When that didn't work, they tried needle aspiration. He went flaccid, but soon, his penis was again erect. Bailey then called for a neuro consult. A CT showed a spinal tumor pressing on his cavernous nerve, causing the persistent erection. The tumor was removed successfully.

Lucy Russell[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Hydrocephalus
    • Prematurity
  • Treatment:
    • Shunt

Lucy was diagnosed in utero with hydrocephalus. They planned to operate to place a shunt immediately after her birth. She was born at 32 weeks' gestation.

Emily Russell[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
    • Prematurity
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

Emily was diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and surgery was planned for immediately after her birth. She was born at 32 weeks' gestation.

Julie Russell[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Omphalocele
    • Prematurity
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

Julie was diagnosed in utero with an omphalocele and surgery was planned for after her birth. She was delivered at 32 weeks' gestation.

Kate Russell[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Prematurity
  • Doctor:
  • Treatment:

Kate was born at 32 weeks' gestation.

Charlotte Russell[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Prematurity
  • Doctor:
  • Treatment:

Charlotte was born at 32 weeks' gestation.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Night of the Dancing Flame" Róisín Murphy
  • Meredith brings home a one-night stand.
  • Cristina and Burke enter his apartment.
  • Izzie and Alex come home.
  • Derek imagines kissing Meredith in the shower.
  • The couples finish having sex.
  • Meredith talks to Cristina on the phone.
"Lotion" Greenskeepers
  • Doyle takes away his boss's water.
  • Cristina performs an enema on Steve while Steve talks about Meredith.
  • Alex and Olivia talk about George.
  • Alex and Izzie talk.
  • George finds Meredith sitting on the stairwell and they talk.
"Crying Shame" Get Set Go
"You and Me" Lifehouse
"High" James Blunt
  • Izzie finds Alex in bed with Olivia.
  • The quints are born and taken to be cared for.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • The close up shot of the document she signs reveals Addison's full name, Addison Forbes Montgomery, for the first time. We later learn in PP that Forbes is just one of her two last names and her actual full name is Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery.
  • This episode's title originated from the song Much Too Much, originally sung by The Who.
  • This episode scored 19.59 million viewers.[1]
  • Lotion by Greenskeepers, which is a song about The Silence of the Lambs, plays while George and Meredith make references to the same movie.[2]

Quotes[]

Meredith: They always look so sad when I kick them out. Seriously, why do guys not understand that when you pick them up in a bar and take them home for sex, that there are no picket fences or kids in your future?
(Cristina takes out Burke's key)
Meredith: Burke keyed you?
Cristina: I got freaking keyed before coffee.
Meredith: What is wrong with them?
Cristina: They're like these 1950s debutantes, one dance and there's a shotgun to your head.
(Meredith's One-Night-Stand walks up)
Steve: Meredith? You work here?
Meredith: What are you doing here...um...Steve?
Steve: I'm having a little problem.
Cristina: Steve, Steve?
Steve: Actually, I'm having a big problem.
(Moves his jacket to reveal his erect penis. Cristina notices and starts staring at it. Meredith doesn't notice.)
Meredith: What?
Cristina: (Still staring) Steve, hi! Cristina.
Steve: Ever since you...and I... (Meredith follows Cristina's gaze and does a double-take) Um... It won't go away.
Meredith: Cristina!
Cristina: What? It's right there, looking at me! There are so many things I could say right now — Champ!
Izzie: Triplets? You- You already have triplets? Oh, I guess when you take those fertility pills, you should read the fine print.
Addison: Dr. Stevens.
Izzie: Oh, I'm sorry. I just, I meant it as a-
Dorie: It's okay. I'm used to it. I just really wanted a girl.


See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

The Grey Matter blog post on this episode can be found here.


References[]

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